The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1887-08-20
INTERESTING BIT OF HISTORY.
a New Jersey Dudes Grand Pluck.

New YORK, August Cit seems n
little strange to read of William Wal
ter Phelps having Il son old enough To
go yachting around the world, passing
Cape Horn in the smallest craft that
ever made that tempestuous passage,
braving sirocros in the Mediterranean
Sea and typhoons in the Indian Ocean,
hunting gazelles in Isnailia and being
hunted by pirates in the Gulf of Alden,
almost ut the southern terminus of the
Suez Canal route, 1t is not so strange
that his boy, who appears to have an
adventurous spirit, should have done
this, but that Mr.. Phelps should have
Il boy old enough to do il; for Phelps
himself is comparatively II young man.
He has done some venturesome things
himself in his day, though, 1 believe,
not in tho same line as his hardy and
athletic son, and two of his daring
fcat' have II mind to tell about, al
though l fancy TO do so will be to offend
both Mr.. Phelps AMI another old friend
of mine. But as neither of them would
probably ever tell the stories of their
own accord, and AS the events to be
narrated really belong to history, here
goes to tell them myself:
AA'loN vi luC 1IiOuuSs ud(l
just been defeated for the Presidency,
and had returned to the editorship Of
the Tribune pretty sore at heart-not
because of his defeat 80 much as from
the discovery that the Negroes of the
South, for whom he had so long bat
tied in his paper, would not vote for
hiEi-did not know him; knew only
the Gen. Grant who had fought for
them on bloody fields. He had just
lost his faithful wife, and that saddened
him. But neither the misfortune of
political defeat nor tha: of domestic
loss affected his brain; only his heart
was touched by these troubles. But
when his old partner, Samuel Sinclair,
publisher Of the Tribune, told him that
the Tribune had been taken out of the
Republican party at great loss that it
was in serious financial straits; that it
would be necessary for Horace Greedy
to retire rs editor, and that the Tribune
must be sold, then Greely went mad
and died. 1t was that knowledge
which killed Greedy. not chagrin at
loss of the Presidehcs have heard
lots of internal fools who did not know
the indomitable spirit OF the old man
assert with the air Of people who
thought they knew it ell. You can
fud scores of such idiots still surviving
and still talking.
He was hardly in his grave before
the Tribune was sold ont by Sinclair.
A syndicate of leading Republicans,
headed by or acting through William
OrtOn, the president of the Western
Union Telegraph Company, had agreed
to buy controlling interest Of tifty.one
shares fer $50O,OOO, with the idea Of
having the then Vice President of the
United States, Schuyler CcIfax, resign
his high Office to become its editor,
and thus bring matters back at one
leap, as it were, the Tribune TO the
leadership of the Republican party.
J~.st think of its absurdity in our pres
ent light! And yet lOng-headed mel,
of business and shrewd politicians act
ually believed that Colfax could rattle
around in Horace Greelcy's chair and
restore the Tribune to power. The
scheme contemplated tho continuance
ot Sinclair as publisher; he was Col
fax's personal friend, and he wasn't to
go out with his old chief. Oh, no; but
tho men who had really helped Greeley
make the paper-such as DR.. George
Ripley, Bayard Taylor, John II. Cleve-
aud, Thomas Rocker, Whitclaw Reid
and others-they were all to be sold
oat. They had actually received
checks from the syndicate for their
shares of stock. Mr.. Orton had gone
to Washington to tender the cditorship
to CnIfaX. Whi,eIaw Reid, who had
heen in charge of the Tribune after Mr..
Greciey's death Il fortnight before, had
cleared up his desk late one evening
and was preparing to move out. He
sent to John II. G. Hazard, the princi-
pal editorial writer, and 10 myself,
then city editor, to come to his room
for final parting, as all supposed.
When we went in he closed his desk
$4,000, made payable to Reid for his
four shares OF stock, and said: "Boys,
that represents my connection with
the Tribune. 1t has been sold to a
syndicate. Mr.. Schuyler ColfaX is to
be the editor. Mr.. Sinclair remains as
the publisher. Mr.. Orton, who repre-
sentI the purchasers, desires you, Haz.
zar,i, to take charge of it until Mr..
ColfaX returns. Nou,' he added, turn
ing to me, '.ins;st on resiguing; you
can turn over the city department to
your chief assistant" That was all
except that Hazard tried hard to sup
press some tears, and l got mad anil
fell TO cGrsing the one whose treachery
for there had been treachery in the
safe-had ruined the Tribune. Much
more was said, however, and while we
yet talked Il dispatcis was brought to